Broke
by iFluff
Summary: Minto one day finds out that she and her family are broke. Meaning no more expensive clothes, grand tea parties or being chauffeured. How will our Lorikeet cope?
1. Chapter One

**Broke**

**Chapter one**

**The Beginning**

The Lorikeet girl that was Aizawa Minto woke up in her Queen sized bed. She then sat up and rubbed her eyes to get rid of the sleep that was in them. Afterwards she looked at her bedside clock, realizing that it was one in the afternoon.

It was the weekend of course, but Minto still thought it was strange. Usually a maid would wake her up around eleven if Minto had the misfortunate to sleep in, which didn't happen very often (Minto didn't like to sleep in too late, even on weekends).

But Minto decided to not think much about it, though she knew she would have to have a talk with the maids. It just wasn't acceptable. Minto then got out of bed and went over to her large window where she opened the silk blue curtains, causing sunlight to flood her room.

_Looks like it's going to be a nice day_ Minto thought with a small smile. After our rich girl got changed out of her blue nightdress and into one of her expensive outfits did she then start to put her hair into her trademark hairstyle, which was a pair of buns tied at the back on the sides of her head with a few strands falling stubbornly down the sides of her face, ending to just about her chin or so.

Suddenly Minto heard a familiar dog's bark and she looked over with her brown eyes to see her pet puppy, Miki, had just walked into the room. Minto smiled at the canine. **"Good morning Miki"** she greeted as she picked up the pup and Miki licked her cheek a bit, causing Minto to giggle slightly.

Minto then left her bedroom and went downstairs. _Where is everybody?_ Minto wondered with a suspicious yet worrying frown. Then as the young girl walked past the double doors that lead to the living room did she hear what sounded like voices.

Minto then opened the door and looked in, seeing a young boy that was her older brother, Seiji sitting on the cough. And on top of that, the children's mother and father were there also! **"Mother! Father!"** Minto said in surprise as she walked further into the room. **"Oh, I see you're already up, Minto dear"** her mother said.

Minto placed Miki on the ground before she spoke to her mother. **"Of course I'm up, none of the maids bothered to wake me"** she replied, quite rudely in fact because of how lazy her maids were. But Minto didn't bother to question why none of the maids woke her up earlier.

Instead she asked, **"So why you and Father are back from Paris so early? And why is Onii-sama back from studying in Europe?"** Minto asked, looked at all three of them. **"Well you see Minto, something came up"** her father said, looking uneasy.

Minto had a feeling that she wasn't going to like what she was about to hear. Her father then looked to his wife, then to his son, before sighing heavily then looked back to his daughter.

**"****This isn't easy for me to say, and nor is this going to be easy for the family**... **But**...** I'm afraid... we're broke"** he finally announced, turning his gaze down to his cupped hands that were on his lap. Minto's pupils grew miniature in shock at what she had just heard. **"**_**I'm afraid**_..._** we're broke**_**"** her father's voice repeated in her mind. No! Surely that couldn't be true! Maybe she had misheard him.

**"****W-What?"** Minto spoke, her mouth suddenly becoming dry and her voice sounded weak. But her father just repeated what she had just heard seconds earlier. **"No**...**"** Minto said quietly as she shook her head slowly. This couldn't be happening! This had to be a nightmare!

**"****No!"** Minto then yelled, feeling her eyes starting to feel watery. **"Please Father! You have to be joking! This can't be happening!"** Minto said to her father, the tears started to fall down her face. Her father shook his head**. "No. I'm afraid I'm not joking. And this is really happening"** he told his daughter calmly with a somewhat sad expression on his face.

Minto shook her head once again, this time a bit more fast so that it caused her buns to bounce a bit and the strands of hair to hit her face. **"No**...** No"** Minto repeated in disbelief, the tears continuing to fall. How had this happened?

Minto then covered her face with her hands where she cried into them. Suddenly Minto felt someone embracing her. Minto lowered her hands and looked up a bit to see her older brother was embracing her, stroking her head to try and comfort her. Minto wrapped her arms around him and sobbed into her brother's shoulder.

And this was how our wealthy Aizawa Minto, became the poor Aizawa Minto...


	2. Chapter Two

**Broke**

**Chapter two**

**The Starting of a New Life**

Minto watched helplessly as the men came out of the house, carrying things like grand furniture and expensive vases and packing them into a large vehicle that was a truck. Minto had her pet dog Miki is her arms who she was gently cuddling for comfort as she watched. She still couldn't believe this was happening. She was still hoping that she will wake up and that this had been all a dream. But she knew that she was only wishfully thinking that that would happen. Because deep down she knew that it was real and this was really happening. Beside Minto was a black suitcase that had some of her belongings inside.

After Minto had stopped crying did her parents say that she was allowed to take a few things with her, but not much because the place that they were moving in was quite small. So Minto had quickly ran back upstairs and started to pack some of her things, like her nightdress, clothes, shoes, hairbrush, toothbrush, etc, etc.

Then an hour later did the men arrive to take away all their stuff and now Minto was standing outside with a suitcase beside her as she waited for the taxi cab to come and pick them up. They may be broke but at least it was nice to know that her father could still afford a taxi cab (even though Minto didn't like public transportation, being the rich girl that she is, but they could no longer keep their car either).

Minto then watched as her father, mother and brother came out of the house, each of them carrying their own suitcase or bag that held the little belongings that they could have brought with them. Then, as if on cue, Minto heard a set of wheels coming up the drive of their mansion and the dark-haired girl turned round to see the taxi cab stopping in front of her. Her father then went round to the back of the car, opened the trunk and put his suitcase as well as everyone else's suitcase in. Then afterwards he shut it then went to get into the cab, taking to sit in the front passenger seat, with Minto's mother, her older brother and Minto herself sitting in the back seats, with Minto in the middle with Miki sitting on her lap.

After her father told the taxi driver their new address did the car start to move and then they were off to start their new lives. Not much talk was given on the way, but that suited Minto just fine. She didn't really feel much like talking. It was rather a sad time for the family anyways. The drive was a bit of a long one, but eventually they stopped outside what looked like a rather scruffy looking apartment building.

The Aizawa family got out of the taxi cab and Minto looked around the area that they stood in. Bits and pieces of litter were lying around the area, a broken street light was flicking on and off, most of the buildings looked rather old and Minto could see what looked like a thin dog searching for scraps of food in an alleyway across the road. The area clearly wasn't a very pleasant place to look at, let alone be in. And just to add to the depressing atmosphere, heavy grey clouds were coming in.

**"****This place is horrible"** the miserable Minto said. "**I know darling, but it was the best we could find under such sort notice"** Minto heard her father say as he unloaded the trunk of the taxi cab then paid the taxi driver for his services**. "But don't worry hun, I'm sure you'll cheer up after you've seen the inside of our apartment"** Minto heard her mother say, obviously trying to keep things cheerful. Minto though was sure that their apartment would just be the same as what it looked like on the outside. **"Don't worry, Minto, I'm sure everything will be alright"** Minto heard her brother say as she felt him placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. But Minto shrugged it off then turned to him**. "No! Everything will not be alright!" **Minto said to him angrily, suddenly feeling angry that this had happened - that her father had let this happen.

A short, awkward silence followed after Minto's sentence before her brother shook his head slightly. **"You don't know that" **he said to her calmly. Minto blinked a few times at him, knowing that he was right. She looked down at the floor in silence, having nothing in mind to say back to him. **"Right. Well, how about we get our things up to our apartment then, hm?"** Minto heard her mother say in the mist of the silence.

After the family collected their things and got onto the landing where their apartment was did her father unlocked the door and pushed it open, revealing where they would be living for probably for the rest of their lives. Minto was surprised – almost shocked – by the sight of the apartment. She was expecting it to be extremely dirty and crawling with disgusting cockroaches, but in fact it wasn't. The floors were wooden and the main room was a living room with a small kitchen connected to it, but there was no table or chairs to go with it. The furniture looked liked they were second hand, but Minto was just glad and relived that the apartment wasn't how she thought it was going to be. There was also a small bathroom with another small room where the toilet was and two bedrooms.

**"****Not bad"** Minto admitted as she placed Miki onto the floor. Guess her mother was right. She then realized that there were two bedrooms**. "Oh…Are me and Onii-sama going to sleep in the same room?"** the Lorikeet asked her parents**. "Well, if you want, you could always pack your things in the room and then take it in turns to sleep on the couch"** her mother suggested, then seeing the look on Minto's face, her mother added**, "Don't worry, it folds out into a bed."**

"**Oh, okay then"** Minto replied, thinking that that was best. She thought it would be a bit weird sharing the same room with her older brother. The two always had separate bedrooms since they could remember and Minto didn't want to risk walking in on her brother naked or vice versa for that matter. **"I'll sleep on the couch tonight"** Minto suddenly heard her brother say and Minto looked at him. **"Are you sure? It might be a bit uncomfortable"** Minto asked him as she looked over at the lumpy, sickly pink coloured couch that had a stain spilled on one of its cushions.

"**Yeah, I'm sure" **her brother replied casually as he too glanced over at the second hand couch before looking back at his younger sister and gave her a small smile. Minto tried to smile back but it seemed to require some force to do so, so she just didn't bother**. "Alright then, if you really wish to"** said Minto, deciding to not stop him. After all, he was the one offering. She then picked up her suitcase and placed it on one of the beds then started to unpack her things silently.

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**Author's Notes: **Yeah I know nothing much happening at the moment in this chapter is there? Just the Aizawas moving in to their new home. But don't worry, next chapter I'm gonna have Minto confess to the other Mews about her problem at the café.


	3. Chapter Three

**Broke**

**Chapter three**

**Confessing Isn't As Easy As It Seems**

After Minto had finished unpacking did she then tell her parents that she was going to the café. Before, Minto would have gotten paid even when she was rich, but now she realized that they really needed the money. Her parents even told her that they could no longer afford her to her dance recital classes anymore nor could they keep her in that private school of her's, she would have to go to a public school now. It seems that everything around Minto was falling apart.

_I hate this!!_ Minto thought in frustration and anger as she kicked a nearby can as she walked down the street. _I hate this I hate this I hate this!!!_ Minto repeated in her mind as she now repeatable stomped on the can, causing it to crush under her expensive shoes. Why did this have to happen to her?! Why?! Suddenly Minto stopped when she heard what sounded like thunder ripping through the sky. Minto looked up to the sky, realizing that the clouds looked heavier then ever before and a blue flash of light lightened the sky for a brief moment before disappearing.

_Oh crap!_ Minto thought as she started to run as fast as her little legs could carry her down the street. No way was she going to let her outfit get trenched in dirty water! The thing cost 121,394 yen! (About 1,000 in US dollars). Minto was about half way down the street when she felt the first drops of rain falling on her and it wasn't long after before the rain started to really pour down. _Crap, crap, crap!_ Minto repeated as she covered her head with her arms, though she knew that that wouldn't do any good either. By the time she got to the café, she was already wet through as if she had just been in a swimming pool with her clothes on.

The minute Minto entered the café did she then shut the door behind her and leaned against it to rest to catch her breath, the water dripping from her clothes to the floor. The warmth of the café was nice though, for it started to warm up her chilled bones from being outside in the rain for so long. **"It's Minto-oneechan!"** came a familiar, childish voice and Minto looked up to see the ten year old yellow haired girl that was Fon Pudding. **"Oh, Minto-san!"** said the shy, worried voice of the green-haired Midorikawa Retasu. **"You're all wet! We can't have you getting a cold! I'll go and get you a towel to dry off"** Retasu added before running off, accidentally tripping over a mop and bucket along the way, causing Minto to cringe at her clumsiness.

**"****Retasu!"** said the cherry-haired girl that was Momoiya Ichigo. **"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"** said Retasu over and over again as she tried desperately to clean the mess up. **"That's okay, just leave it and get a towel!"** Ichigo ordered her. Retasu hesitated for a moment before she then finally agreed with Ichigo and went to get a towel. After Ichigo cleaned up the mess that Retasu made and put the bucket and mop in a corner so there was less chance of the green-haired girl falling over it again did the cat girl finally turn to Minto. **"So why are you so late Minto? Usually you are so punctual"** Ichigo mentioned. Minto was kind of dreading when this question would arrive. She knew that she may as well tell them about her family's distress rather then lie about. She knew that they would find out about it sooner or later anyways.

Minto then suddenly noticed that the group must have been closing up for the day for she noticed that the chairs were on top of the tables. She knew she was going to be late, she wasn't expecting to be _that_ late. **"Um, well…You see-"**Minto was saying when Retasu suddenly came rushing back in with a clean, white towel with her. **"Here you go, Minto-san"** she said with her head low as she offered the towel to the Lorikeet. **"Thank you"** Minto said as she took the towel from her then untied the buns on her head so that it fell to about her shoulders so that it was easier to dry. **"But Minto-oneechan's clothes are still wet, na no da"** Minto heard Pudding point out (as if it wasn't obvious enough).

**"****I suppose she could always wear the café uniform while her clothes dry"** Ichigo suggested to Pudding's question. **"Yeah, that seems like a good idea"** Minto agreed once she finished drying her hair. **"And could one of you make some tea?"** Minto asked as she was about to head to the changing room. **"Eh? Why should we?!" **Minto heard Ichigo say in anger by the fact that Minto was requesting tea when she could so easily do it herself. **"I-I'll make some, Minto-san"** came the nervous voice of Retasu as she went into the kitchen. Minto then turned towards Ichigo with a serious look on her face. This was no time to be bickering. **"Because I want to discuss why I was late"** she answered her question quite seriously.

After Minto got dried and changed into her café uniform (she decided to not bother with putting her hair back in her usual hairstyle, so she just let it hang out) did Ichigo, Retasu, Pudding and Zakuro sit at a table with Minto with five cups of tea in front of them. **"So what it is that you wanted to talk to us about, Minto-san?"** Retasu asked the Lorikeet politely. Minto took a careful sip of her hot cup of tea before placing it back down on its saucer, trying to brace herself for how everyone would react to the news. She had actually purposely taken her time in the changing room because she had been trying to decide what to say exactly to the group. But now that everyone was here, it felt much harder for the words to leave her mouth then actually planned.

**"****I…Don't really know how to tell you girls….But"** Minto said slowly as she gazed down at her tea cup, unable to look at any of the girls. **"But….My family….are broke"** she finally announced, suddenly feeling kind of embarrassed and ashamed by what has happened. **"EH?!"** said Ichigo, Retasu and Pudding in unison, causing Minto to wince at how loud their voices became. _Geez, didn't they ever learn to keep their voices down?_ Minto thought in disapproval and annoyance as she took a sip of her tea. **"That's horrible!"** Ichigo said, to Minto's mild surprise. She was half expecting Ichigo to have a go at her that she had lost all her money. **"How troublesome…"** said the model Fujiwara Zakuro with no emotion in her voice before taking a sip of her tea too. **"Poor Minto-oneechan…"** said Pudding sadly. **"So where are you staying now?"** Retasu asked with concern in her voice, Minto guessing that she probably thought she was staying on the streets or something.

**"****Oh, don't worry. My family and I are staying in an apartment just outside the city centre"** she reassured her green-haired companion. **"Oh, that's a relief"** Retasu said with a kind smile. Minto smiled back to the dolphin girl, glad that someone was concern for her safety for once. **"I know! Let's all go and visit Minto-oneechan's new home! Na no da!"** suddenly said the excited Pudding as she leaped to her feet, making the rest to jump in surprise. **"What? No!"** Minto protested suddenly. **"Huh? Why not?" **Pudding asked innocently, a disappointed look on her face. **"Urm…Well…"** said Minto, trailing off as she suddenly looked around the room except at the four girls, feeling her blood rushing to her cheeks, knowing that they have probably turned scarlet, which made her even more embarrassed by the minute. She didn't really have a good excuse at hand, for she had not expected this to happen.

**"****Urm…Well, because it's raining outside and I doubt any of you will have any umbrellas, let alone a ride"** she suddenly said, which she knew would be true enough. Though the _real_ reason why Minto didn't want the group to see where she was living was because she suddenly felt embarrassed by the fact that she was poor, knowing that Ichigo, Retasu and Pudding were middleclass. And Zakuro was most likely a bit upper then the three, being a famous celebrity and all. Speaking of Zakuro, Minto imagined that she would end up being even more embarrassed (if that was possible) if her Oneesama saw where she was living now. Oh God that would be so horrible! Minto thought that she would rather die then let Zakuro see the place! Pudding then turned to Zakuro.

**"****Don't you have a car or something, Zakuro-oneechan?"** Pudding asked the wolf girl. **"Yes, it's a limousine, but my agent owns it. And it's only used when I'm travelling to big social events and such alike, not for visiting apartments"** Zakuro said calmly yet firmly at the same time without looking at the younger girl, who's face as yet again taken on the look of disappointment. **"Don't worry Pudding, I'm sure we can visit another day"** said Ichigo, trying to reassure the monkey girl, which made Minto a bit uneasy and then started to send her mind into a bit of a mental panic. Another day? Could that possible mean that they would want to visit tomorrow? Tomorrow was Sunday, which meant that they opened in the afternoon and shut earlier then usually, meaning that the group wouldn't really have anything much to do, which meant that they had an excuse to visit the apartment! _I'm doomed…._

**"****Minto-san, shouldn't your clothes be dried now?"** came Retasu voice, breaking Minto from her thoughts. **"Maybe…I'll go check"** replied the Lorikeet as she got up from her chair then went back into the changing room to check on her clothes, which she had placed on a radiator to dry off. She felt her clothes with her hands. They still felt quite damp, but it would do. Minto then got changed out of her café uniform and back into her outfit before coming back out of the changing room once again. **"They're still a bit damp, but I'll live"** she said to the group.

**"****What's going on here?"** came a familiar voice and everyone looked over to see the blonde teenager that was Shirogane Ryou. **"Shouldn't you girls have finished cleaning the café up by now? Or don't you have a home to go to anymore?"** he stated quite rudely, making Ichigo glared at him. **"Of course we have a home to go to! We just took a few minutes to discuss something! Are we no longer allowed to take a break?"** Ichigo said to him angrily. Minto chuckled slightly at how mad Ichigo was getting with Shirogane. She could be so amusing at times. _I guess that's why I like to make Ichigo mad too, to see her reaction_ Minto concluded. Maybe that was the same reason Shirogane did that too?

**"****Ichigo, stop bickering with Shirogane-san and let's finish putting everything away"** Minto told the cat girl, but it wasn't in a mean or rude way like she would have done. **"Yes, exactly, get back to work"** said Ryou before he walked off. Ichigo glared at the blonde's back before helping out the others in putting everything away before they left. Afterwards did the rest of the girls get changed out of their café uniforms and into their casual clothing before setting off. Retasu had been precautious about the weather for she had actually brought an umbrella with her. And seeing that Pudding lived near Retasu's the two decided to set off together in the rain.

Zakuro had called a taxi cab and had now left and Ichigo had called her father to tell him to come and pick her up, deciding to bring Minto along too. Well, she didn't have any other way of getting back home, not unless she wanted to get her clothes soaked again. **"So is this where you live?"** Ichigo asked as the red head looked up at the scruffy apartment. **"Oh no Ichigo, of course not. That whole losing my family's money had been a lie just for a laugh"** Minto said with extreme sarcasm in her voice. Ichigo gave Minto an annoyed look, which just amused the Lorikeet.

**"****There's no need for sarcasm, I was just asking"** Ichigo pouted. **"But it **_**was**_** pretty obvious that this is the place" **Minto pointed out in a matter of fact kind of tone, completely forgetting her embarrassment about the place. **"Whatever"** Ichigo replied shortly, having nothing witty to reply back with, which made Minto grin in amusement. **"Well, I'll see you tomorrow, Ichigo"** Minto said as she opened the car door. After Minto thanked Ichigo's father for the ride did Minto then get out of the car and entered the apartment building.

_What am I going to do about tomorrow?_ Minto wondered as she got changed out of her damp clothes and into a clean night dress. She knew that Pudding would be most determined to see what the apartment was like, and with that, most likely dragging the group with her. The only thing that Minto thought she could get out of it was to find an excuse to not bring them with her when the café closed. As Minto lied in her bed, she started to think of some excuses that she could use, but none came to her. And before the girl could think of anything else to get around the idea of the Mew Mews coming over here, she drifted off to sleep….


	4. Chapter Four

**Broke**

**Chapter four**

_Darn! I can't believe a fell asleep before I could think of anything!_ Minto thought in frustration as she started to get dressed. _Maybe I could phone in sick…No, that wouldn't work; the girls would surely come over if they knew I was sick and my family really need the money anyways_. After Minto finished getting dressed did she then let a sigh escape her lips, knowing that she would have to go to the café. _Hm, maybe when we're shutting up, I can sneak out the back so they won't notice me leaving_ Minto thought, and then nodded her head a bit in satisfaction. Yes, that could work! Feeling a bit less dreadful about going to the café did Minto then head out of her bedroom to get some breakfast. After that did then Minto leave the apartment to head to the café. **"Good morning everyone"** the Lorikeet greeted upon entering the café. **"Good morning!"** came the reply from the three other girls (Zakuro was there, but she didn't bother to reply).

After Minto got change into the café's uniform did she then took a seat at the same table as Zakuro was sitting at, who was reading some kind of magazine. Minto then looked over at the model. Usually Zakuro always acted cold and distant and when Minto or any of the other girls tried to start a conversation with her, she would just reply with short words so it made talking about something else hard or just completely blank them out. But just maybe…Just maybe she might take an interest today. **"Urm…So what are you reading there?"** Minto asked her. Zakuro looked over at Minto in the corner of her eye before looking back at the magazine. **"Just an article about a movie"** Zakuro replied unemotionally. **"Is it interesting?"** Minto asked, hoping her idol to take an interest in the conversation for once. **"Not really…"**.

As expected, the conversation was starting to die. Minto was about to give up continuing anymore when suddenly an idea came to her mind. She turned back towards Zakuro, a slight smile across her pink lips. **"Hey, speaking of movies, how about we go to the cinema next week?"** Minto asked the Grey Wolf girl, her cheeks a light pink colour. Just thinking of spending some quality time with Zakuro filled her with happiness. **"There's this movie that I've been dying to see. It looks really interesting and-" **Minto continued when suddenly she was cut off. **"No"** Zakuro replied in a monotone voice without looking at the blue mew. **"W-What…?"** Minto said slowly as she looked at the purple mew. **"I said no. I don't do movie theatres"** Zakuro repeated in that same voice.

The model then placed the magazine on the table, then got up and walked off, probably to help the other three girls with cleaning the café before they opened up. Minto stared at her in silence with a disappointed look on her twelve-year-old face, feeling her heart sinking. No, it was more then sinking; it was now drowning. It was rather weird. Minto had known Zakuro for almost a year now and she still manages to surprise her at times. This could have been her one chance of getting to know Zakuro outside of work. She had gotten her hopes up too high. She wished Zakuro would open up to her, she really did. It was so frustrating idolizing someone, but they don't notice you or even seem to care that you adore them or want to be with them.

It was rather like having a crush on someone, but you might want to get to know them before asking them out. So, you would walk up to them and start asking a question to get the conversation going. But they don't seem interested in talking to you and then they walk away, leaving you to feel crushed. But, you can't move on, you just can't seem to stop loving them, so you keep trying to make them notice you, perhaps to even make them even feel the same way that you do about them.

But it always ends up the same way, over and over again. You just can't help but crave the desirer for them to notice you, to get a chance to be with them. That's how Minto felt it was with her and Zakuro. A heavy sigh escaped the Lorikeet's lips as she turned her hazel brown eyes to the table, on the magazine, which had some kind of model on the front of the cover. She then got to her feet and decided to have her daily cup of tea. It was almost time anyways. She could help the girls, but being the lazy girl she was; she didn't fancy it.

**Arthur's Notes: **Yeah I know, nothing interesting is going on right now. Sort of random, I suppose…Ah well. And sorry about not updating earlier.


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